The Elusive Truths of Democracy

Nichols Book Jacket

Shetterly’s reflections on John Nichols’ new book about Henry Wallace and his advocacy for true democracy after the end of the Depression.

George W’s Innocence Project

Drone Flying

I’ve got a stone in my shoe. It’s been there for 18 painful years. I can’t seem to accommodate myself to it. Because every so often it grows another sharp edge. Those familiar with the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait project know that the stone planted itself in my shoe shortly after 9/11 when […]

To Stand Up a Stone

Rachel Corrie Awtt Portrait

Artist Robert Shetterly contemplates how acts of courage are like standing up stones.

Who Will Save Us from the Climate Crisis?

Kelsey Juliana Awtt Portrait

From Robert Shetterly’s opening address at the Climate Convergence Conference in Blue Hill, Maine on July 20, 2019. I begin with Gauguin’s great painting which asks the questions: Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? Dinosaurs lived 200 million years on this planet, and my guess is that they never […]

Death of a Warbler

Chicago Streets

I was sitting at the kitchen table reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s article in The New Yorker (May 20, 2019) about species extinction. Such a litany of loss overfills the reservoir of one’s grief while its calm, ordered prose provides a dam to hold it back. Suddenly there was a soft thud on the window behind me. […]

On Getting Arrested at Bath Iron Works

Biw March

A couple of weeks ago I chose to get arrested at a demonstration at Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine. The day was cold, windy, and wet. A huge new battleship, the USS Lyndon Baines Johnson, was being launched. BIW is one of two shipyards in the U.S. capable of building these mammoth, deadly […]